EPA to lower the boom on pleasure boat emissions.The Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and (EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. ) has proposed new restrictions on pleasure boat emissions. The regulation is one in a series of proposals aimed at reducing air pollution produced by gas and diesel engines like those used for small watercraft, lawn and garden equipment, and construction machinery. The regulation on boats would affect new outboard engines and personal watercraft personal watercraft n. 1. A motorized recreational water vehicle normally ridden by straddling a seat. 2. (used with a pl. verb) Such water vehicles considered as a group. , such as Jet Skis, beginning in 1998, the EPA said. Older engines would not have to be retrofitted. Public hearings were scheduled late last month. (59 Fed. Reg. 55930 (Nov. 9, 1994).) "Of all categories of nonroad engines, marine engines contribute the second highest levels of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxide Noun 1. nitrogen oxide - any of several oxides of nitrogen formed by the action of nitric acid on oxidizable materials; present in car exhausts pollutant - waste matter that contaminates the water or air or soil (N[O.sub.x]) exhaust emissions," the EPA said. Only lawn and garden engines emit higher levels of HC, and only farm and construction equipment emit higher levels of N[O.sub.x]. Exhaust fumes exhaust fumes fumes given off by vehicles; contain some carbon monoxide, the amount varying with the efficiency of combustion in the particular engine. In most engines the use of exhaust fumes for euthanasia is not recommended because it operates partly on the carbon dioxide from boats quickly bubble up to the water's surface, where they produce ground-level ozone--a respiratory tract respiratory tract n. The air passages from the nose to the pulmonary alveoli, including the pharynx, larynx, trachea, and bronchi. Respiratory tract irritant ir·ri·tant adj. Causing irritation, especially physical irritation. n. A source of irritation. irritant, n 1. an agent that causes an irritation or stimulation. 2. that can cause chest pain and lung inflammation, the agency said. Meeting the requirements of the regulation would likely boost the price of new marine engines by 10 or 15 percent, said Mary Nichols, EPA assistant administrator for the agency's air and radiation division. She added, however, that engines complying with the regulation will start easier; accelerate faster; get better fuel economy; and produce less noise, odor, and smoke. Nonroad engines account for 10 percent of all HC and 17 percent of all N[O.sub.x] emissions released into the air, the EPA said. Among all nonroad engines, marine engines account for 30 percent of HC and 16 percent of the N[O.sub.x] emissions released. Federal water pollution regulations already are in place, but this EPA proposal is the first to address air pollution from boats. Copies of the proposed boat emissions standard, as published in the Federal Register, may be obtained at any federal depository library. Electronic copies are available through EPA's Mobile Source Bulletin Board at (919) 541-5742 or (919) 541-5384. |
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